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PRODUCER: |
John A. Davis (Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius), Tom Hanks (Polar Express, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Connie and Carla), Gary Goetzman (Polar Express, My Big Fat Greek Wedding) |
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Aunt Bully . . . devoted wife of Uncle Buck, beloved sister of Mommie Dearest, and the closest living relative of A Bug’s Life.
The Ant Bully is another animated movie in a long list out this summer. Lucas (voiced by Zack Tyler) is a little kid who gets picked on by the bully in his neighborhood. To vent his anger, he takes out his aggressions on an ant hill in his backyard by dousing it with water. What he doesn’t know is that the ants have their own little society and they are determined to get even with the human destroyer who tried to flood them. The wizard ant Zoc (voiced by Nicolas Cage) creates a potion that shrinks Lucas to ant size. They bring him to the ant colony where he is sentenced to stay in the colony and learn the ways of ants. The kind female ant Hova (voiced by Julie Roberts) takes him under her wing to make sure he learns his lessons. Lucas resists the lessons until he remembers his dad hired an exterminator to come kill the ants. Now Lucas has to find a way to save the ants and himself before they are all annihilated. Along the way, he forges new friendships, learns to respect others differences and learns how to confront bullies.
The Ant Bully offers a somewhat interesting premise, as well as the ever more common fascinating animation. And even though in a sane and just world, one would never find “Nicholas Cage” and “voice talent” in the same sentence, Nicholas Cage nonetheless excels as just that – a voice talent. But, the movie’s story is a little too typical and poorly developed, moving in fact too fast at some times and too slow at others. More importantly, the movie lacks both the compelling suspense and the extraordinary “cartoon chemistry” that so characterize the classics – Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Monsters Inc, and, of course, A Bug’s Life. Yes, kids will enjoy it, as they tend to enjoy most everything with bright colors and a happy ending. Adults, however, will find the experience largely uneventful . . . possibly even dull.
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